Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems became the largest for-profit hospital operator in the nation in 2014 when it acquired Naples, Fla.-based Health Management Associates. Now, the company is selling off hospitals to pay down its debt.
As part of a turnaround plan put into place in 2016 to improve its finances and reduce its heavy debt load, CHS divested 30 hospitals in 2017. With the help of proceeds from the hospital sales, CHS brought down its long-term debt load from $14.8 billion at the end of 2016 to $13.9 billion at the end of 2017.
To further reduce its debt, CHS intends to sell another group of hospitals with combined revenue of $2 billion. The company has made progress toward that goal. During 2018, CHS completed 11 hospital divestitures and permanently closed three hospitals. So far this year, the company has divested 12 hospitals.
Here's a breakdown of the hospitals CHS has divested in 2019:
Jan. 1: CHS completed the sale of Mary Black Health System, a two-hospital system based in Spartanburg, S.C. The company divested 207-bed Mary Black Health System-Spartanburg and 125-bed Mary Black Health System-Gaffney (S.C.), as well as their related businesses, to Spartanburg (S.C.) Regional Healthcare System.
Jan. 31: A nonprofit run by Bloomfield, N.J.-based Community Healthcare Associates completed its purchase of Salem, N.J.-based Memorial Hospital of Salem County from CHS.
March 1: CHS sold four South Carolina hospitals to Medical University of South Carolina Hospital Authority in Charleston. The transaction included the following hospitals: 82-bed Chester Regional Medical Center; 225-bed Springs Memorial Hospital in Lancaster; 396-bed Carolinas Hospital System in Florence; and 124-bed Carolinas Hospital System-Marion in Mullins.
July 31: CHS completed the sale of 167-bed College Station (Texas) Medical Center to Bryan, Texas-based CHI St. Joseph Health.
Aug. 1: CHS sold 245-bed Tennova Healthcare-Lebanon (Tenn.) to Nashville, Tenn.-based Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Sept. 1: CHS sold two Florida hospitals to Altamonte Springs, Fla.-based AdventHealth. The two hospitals included in the transaction were 193-bed Heart of Florida Regional Medical Center in Davenport and 160-bed Lake Wales (Fla.) Medical Center.
Oct. 1: CHS completed the sale of 92-bed Bluefield (W.Va.) Regional Medical Center to Princeton (W.Va.) Community Hospital.
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